"Supreme Court to Hear Key Test Case for Age Bias Claims": Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal has this report.Posted at 11:33 PM by Howard Bashman"Schwarzenegger back in trouble over prison care": Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle has this news update.

"ACLU sues DA in nude photo trading case": The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pennsylvania has a news update that begins, "The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the Wyoming County District Attorney on behalf of three teenage girls who may face felony charges for having semi-nude pictures of themselves traded by classmates using cell phones." The article provides links to that newspaper's earlier coverage of these events.

The Internal Revenue Service suffered a setback late Wednesday in its crusade against corporate tax shelters when an appeals court ruled that Textron, the maker of Cessna airplanes, did not have to turn over internal papers detailing its use of aggressive tax shelters.

According to the article, "The case has been closely watched by large corporations and their lawyers and accountants, who fear having to disclose potentially damaging deliberations regarding shelters that the I.R.S. considers abusive."

"One would guess that the chances are pretty slim that the work of a 17th century French poet would find its way into a Chicago courtroom in 2009." But, because an appeal that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit decided today involves the so-called "cat's paw" theory, that's exactly what has happened.

One would guess that the chances are pretty slim that the work of a 17th century French poet would find its way into a Chicago courtroom in 2009. But that's the situation in this case as we try to make sense out of what has been dubbed the "cat's paw" theory. The term derives from the fable "The Monkey and the Cat" penned by Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695). In the tale, a clever--and rather unscrupulous--monkey persuades an unsuspecting feline to snatch chestnuts from a fire. The cat burns her paw in the process while the monkey profits, gulping down the chestnuts one by one. As understood today, a cat's paw is a "tool" or "one used by another to accomplish his purposes." Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1976). More on this a little later.

You can access a translation of the fable at this link, and the fable apparently has inspired at least several artists (see here and here).Posted at 04:42 PM by Howard BashmanSeventh Circuit decides appeal involving approximately 81,454 cans of baby formula: I guess the U.S. Department of Justice is free to attempt to approximate with exactitude, instead of using round numbers like 81,500. At least that appears to be the federal government's position given the caption of the case known as United States v. Approximately 81,454 Cans of Baby Formula.

"Court focuses skeptical eye on McCain-Feingold": Tony Mauro has this news analysis online at the First Amendment Center.Posted at 01:42 PM by Howard BashmanToday's U.S. Supreme Court opinion in an argued case: The Court today issued its opinion in Puckett v. United States, No. 07-9712. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court, in which the Chief Justice and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, and Samuel A. Alito, Jr. joined. Justice David H. Souter issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice John Paul Stevens joined. You can access the ruling at this link and the oral argument transcript at this link.

"Keller denies charges she closed court to death row appeal": Chuck Lindell has this article today in The Austin American-Statesman. You can access the written response to the charges by clicking here.

"Security Worries in the Suburbs; Possible Move of Terrorist Suspects To Alexandria for Trial Raises Outcry": Jerry Markon has this article today in The Washington Post.Posted at 09:30 AM by Howard Bashman"Handling Of 'State Secrets' At Issue; Like Predecessor, New Justice Dept. Claiming Privilege": The Washington Post contains this front page article today.Posted at 09:28 AM by Howard Bashman"Law School begins search for new dean":This article appears today in The Yale Daily News.

"Ex-judge fights to have his pension reinstated; A former Creek County judge who was convicted of indecent exposure is asking an Oklahoma County judge to reinstate his judicial retirement pay": The Tulsa World contains this article today.Posted at 09:17 AM by Howard Bashman"State's top court hears pros, cons of housing bans for sex offenders; 118 New Jersey towns have such restrictions":This article appears today in The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger.

"Defense to present case in Kan. abortion trial": The Associated Press has this report.Posted at 08:54 AM by Howard Bashman"6 candidates for chief justice have their say":This article appears today in The Providence (R.I.) Journal.Posted at 08:47 AM by Howard Bashman"Judges for sale": Today's edition of The Boston Globe contains an editorial that begins, "How would you like to go into an appeals court if your opponent in the case spent $3 million to help elect one of the judges?"Posted at 08:42 AM by Howard Bashman"What Constitutional Rights Should Schoolchildren Have? Two Recent Cases Underscore the Ways in Which Children Are Not Simply Miniature Adults." Michael C. Dorf has this essay online at FindLaw.Posted at 08:34 AM by Howard Bashman